If animals were as obese as humans: Hilarious pictures imagine overweight creatures struggling with their size

The United States is facing the fact that by 2030 almost 50 percent of its population will be massively overweight, as people stuff their faces with junk food and never take the time to exercise.

However, obesity is not a problem faced by the animal kingdom, as each gorilla, squirrel, tiger and elephant battles daily with mother nature's law of survival of the fittest.

Supposing though for a second that animals were as obese as humans, these humourous pictures of fat and chubby creatures imagine a world where obesity is not just confined to over indulgent human's but included the animal kingdom too.

Who ate all the nuts? These photos show what a squirrel and giraffe would look like if animals were as obese as humans

Problem solved: Maybe Burger King wasn't the smartest move...

And if animals were to become as obese as humans then they too would discover the same health problems that we experience.

Being
overweight increases anyone's risk of diabetes, heart disease and a
host of other ailments, the severely obese are most at risk — and the
most expensive to treat.

Indeed, how would obesity affect animals? Would it be lounging male lions who are the fattest, or lazy male elephants too tired to traipse across the Serengeti?

Part of the reason for the continuing rise among humans is that the population is growing and aging.

It's a dog's life: You gotta feel sorry for this overfed pooch

It's a hard life: Being this large can cause health problems

Greedy: Eating too much and not doing enough exercise can make you overweight

People ages 45 to 64 are most likely to be obese, said Duke University health economist Eric Finkelstein.

Today, more than 78 million U.S. adults are obese, defined as having a body-mass index of 30 or more. BMI is a measure of weight for height. Someone who's 5-feet-5 would be termed obese at 180 pounds, and severely obese with a BMI of 40 — 240 pounds.

The new forecast suggests 32 million more people could be obese in 2030 — adding $550 billion in health spending over that time span, said Finkelstein.

Fitting in: The penguin on the left will stand out among friends

Held back: This horse might have problems getting over jumps with that girth

This chick is just too cute, but it could do with shedding a few pounds